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Portland symposium highlights climate change

A first-of-its-kind symposium in Portland this week aims to make sure Maine fisheries, including the state’s signature lobster industry, are sustainable well into the future.

The state’s coast plays a big role in the cultural, economic and social aspects of the state, and some Mainers are worried that changing climate and warmer water could take a drastic toll on working waterfronts.

Lobstermen, who deal with long days, unpredictable business and thin profit margins, are especially worried.

“There’s always a balance between managing a resource and making money, and we’re trying to do that in the lobster fisher, but it’s difficult. We’ve got a lot of players,” said Kristan Porter, a lobsterman from Cutler.

Many of the players were brought together to talk about the changes they’re seeing off the coast.

“Temperatures have been warming especially rapidly, and we’ve been seeing many new species much farther north than they’ve been in the past,” said Malin Pinsky of Princeton University.

Shifting species can present unique problems for the people who live and work in coastal communities.

“It’s hard to switch to something different,” Pinsky said. “You don’t catch a whole lot else in a lobster trap. It’s not good for catching many other things.”

Many attending the symposium said one way to ensure the sustainability of coastal industries is to use rules and regulations to manage natural resources.

“Our communities along the coast of Maine are absolutely dependent upon this,” said Rob Snyder of the Island Institute. “It’s part of our heritage, and people want to be able to continue to go down to the sea and make a living.”

Some said different species of fish could come and go from Maine’s waters over the coming years. Lobster will probably never go away, but in the future, the industry could look a lot different than it does today, they said.

“It would be unlikely that we would see conditions in the Gulf of Maine alter to a point where it would be inhospitable for lobsters, but within the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, we have to be able to respond to where they’re going to be more or less available over time,” said Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

“History has shown that things change, so we need to be prepared for it if we can,” Porter said.

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